


Saving Clay

by Nicnag



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Bravo - Freeform, Emotions, F/M, Fanfic, Human Trafficking, Kidnapping, Rescue Mission, SEALs, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-10 03:36:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20521298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicnag/pseuds/Nicnag
Summary: Bravo is part of a rescue mission targeting human trafficking victims, but their hostage isn’t who they were originally sent in to save. Little does Clay know how important this rescued hostage is going to be in his life, especially when a mission goes sideways and he’s separated from his team. Clay can feel his dream of becoming the team leader on Bravo slipping away from him after that doomed mission. The only one he knows that could help him is just a phone call away. However, he isn’t sure if he should dredge up the past. Will Clay be saved before his career is in jeopardy?





	1. Rescue Mission

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first story I started writing, thus why the characters become revealed as to who is who in the first chapter. I didn’t have a real strong sense of each of the team members yet as I didn’t watch SEAL Team when it first came out. I eventually caught up and am ready for season 3.

Saving Clay

Chapter 1: Rescue Mission

She felt the strong grip he had around the back of her neck with his hand while holding his gun to her temple with the other. He was shouting in Arabic and she could only translate a few words, he was speaking too quickly. Her eyes were swollen from the slaps to her face and her ribs ached from the kicks she took when she was on the ground, at the mercy of her captors. 

All of a sudden, the doors burst open and two of her captors were now on the ground after hearing the muffled sound of gunfire. The remaining captor drug her to feet and placed her body between himself and the new arrivals. Two guns were pointed at him but with her in front, they had no shot. Through blurry eyes she saw the two were military looking type men, shouting in Arabic as well as English. 

She couldn’t allow herself to think she had been saved until the gun was no longer pointed towards her head. What she couldn’t see were two other men above who had their sites trained on the captor as well. While he tried to move her towards the exit, she faltered from the pain. As soon as she fell forward, her captor was on the ground like his other two men.

The two military men rushed forward, alerting her she was now safe and that they were US military sent to take her home. One took his knife out and sliced through the rope around her wrists. His touch was rough but his voice was soft as he seemed to assess her on auto pilot as if he had done it numerous times before. The other assessed her injuries before keying his mic and telling Bravo One the package had been secured. Everything was happening so fast her mind couldn’t keep up. The guy using his mic said to the other they needed to move to exfil. Then two more men showed up, both with longer guns. 

The younger of the two asked “Bravo 4, is she ready to transport?” 

The man who was checking her over said “two mikes.” 

Turning his attention back to her, he asked “What hurts? What did they do to you?” 

“They….they hurt me….beat me when I wouldn’t….submit.”

She lifted the front of her shirt to reveal deep dark bruising along both sides of her ribs. She flinched as he lightly touched the skin. 

“My back too.” 

Bravo 4 directed Bravo 3 to carefully lift the backside of her shirt. He set down his knife and slowly did as he was told. He had to look away. A man should never put their hands on a woman. Intel suggested the group was into sex trafficking and this woman was just hours away from being sold.

The younger man, known as Bravo 6 as she soon learned, told the other team member standing with him to maintain security as he dashed into the darkness, gun at the ready.

The man “maintaining security” keyed his mic and said “Bravo 1, this is Bravo 2, 1 mike to exfil, Bravo 3 and 4 preparing for transport.” 

She didn’t hear the response telling him the building was not secure as heat signatures were being picked up to their east closing in on their location, too many to hold off for long. Bravo 3 helped her to her feet, but she shook each time she took a step, her knees feeling like they wouldn’t hold her despite the two strong men helping her. 

3 handed his gun to 2 as he swept her off her feet gruffly telling her to hold around his neck. She could feel him tense up as the group started hearing loud gunshots, not like the ones from the military men. These were not muffled. Then there was a massive explosion that shook the building, almost causing the entire team to hit the floor. 

“RPG” yelled one of the men.

Being close to 3’s mic, she could hear someone say “get out of there, we can’t get to the RPG” just as another explosion rocked them all, deafeningly loud. By some miracle, they were all able to keep their balance and moved forward at a quicker pace. 

She held onto Bravo 3 tighter, feeling his breathing pick up. She felt his muscles tighten around her as he pulled her closer to his chest. As they came to the exit, 3 other military men were surrounding a vehicle, including the younger one she had seen inside. Their eyes scanned the area for any more hostiles. Just as another RPG hit the area where they had just been, she felt another set of strong arms pull her into the van. She landed roughly on her side but felt her head land on something softer, like a leg. His grip was stronger than needed, but she knew the adrenalin was singing through his veins, just like it was in hers.

They sped off before the door was even closed, dodging the dead bodies littering the ground like an obstacle course. As they drove past a gate surrounding the property, she heard the passenger say “Fire in the hole” as a cloud of smoke reached to the heavens after the building collapsed in on itself. 

While the men bumped fists and let out the breath they had all collectively been holding since the mission began, she felt her body tremble and her eyes wanted to close. She was finally allowing herself to realize she had been rescued after 6 days in the clutches of a group known for kidnapping and selling women. 

She felt a strong hand behind her neck, but wasn’t hurting her like her captors had. He told her his name was Trent as he tried to get her talking while he checked her eyes with the pen light again. He told her to stay awake, but she couldn’t. Her thoughts became muddled, not able to track the conversation. She heard the words “shock” and “adrenalin” not knowing what it all meant as she slipped off into the darkness of peace. “Damnit” was the last thing she Bravo 4 say.

Bravo 4, Trent, leaned his head back against the van door while Bravo 2 and 6 checked their weapons in the back. The van must have been used for cargo as there were no seats behind the front two where Bravo 1 and 5, Jason and Brock, sat. Bravo 3 reached over and easily pulled her onto his lap from Clay’s lap, all 5’2 and 100 pounds of her, while turning her onto her right side with her head resting on his upper thigh now. He knew her right side was the least bruised, hoping to spare her some pain if at all possible.

He lifted her shirt again as Trent instructed. A long series of swear words left both Sonny and Trents mouths. Trent decided to clean up the wounds from what appeared to be made by a whip and dress them with gauze from his medical bag. He was concerned about infection and he had time while they drove to the helo’s waiting for them. He also wrapped a tight bandage around her ribs to give her more stability. He slipped a quick acting ice pack under the bandage for comfort. No ribs seemed to be broken, but they were so bruised it probably felt like they were fractured. He silently thanked his higher power that she had passed out because otherwise she would have been in pain as he tediously cleaned out the gashes. 

As Trent had Sonny turn her carefully onto her back, pulling her up towards him so her back rested against his chest, they heard a “pop” and felt the van veer out of control. They came to a hasty stop, pitching the 5 of them forward. The jolt woke her up and her head was now pounding, her back stinging and her ribs screaming. She didn’t even have the energy to moan.

As she heard some of the men commenting on a blown tire and getting the spare out to replace it, she heard Jason tell Clay and Ray to watch security while he and Brock jacked up the van with Trent, Sonny and her still inside. Trent gently wiped her face, removing the dirt and blood so he could better assess her. No breaks but her orbital bones were badly bruised and her lips had been split open more than once. 

“How much pain are you in?” asked Sonny. 

She had yet to mutter any words since they rescued her. It was like she was mute, knowing what she wanted to say but couldn’t verbalize it. 

“Just nod your head if you want Trent to give you something for the pain.” She didn’t nod, she knew the med would impair her ability to think clearly. 

Sonny asked again while also stating “You are safe here with us. We’ve got you.” 

She finally nodded and then felt a jab in her thigh, morphine coursing its way into her bloodstream. 

“I just gave you a small dose. You can have more in a bit.” 

The pain eased up and her eyes grew heavy as she felt the van begin to move again. There was chatter amongst the men regarding their exfil plan as ISR was now showing hostiles on either side of the helicopter landing site several klicks out, but covering ground quickly. If they didn’t make the timeline, they didn’t know when or how they’d get out of the country if they weren’t run down by hostiles. The helos couldn’t touch down if the area became hot, but so far ISR hadn’t shown any RPG’s.

The next thing she remembered was once again being lifted and handed from one man to another ending up in the same arms as before as she was carried to the helo. She was handed up into the helo while the others scrambled in and then took up watch as they cleared the area. She was given a set of ear protection which helped to drown out the noise. More fist bumps and high fives as the helo rose higher into the sky.

Trent noticed her grimaces from the increasing pain in her head due to the sound of the rotors despite the head set. She wasn’t even asked if she wanted more meds as she felt the familiar jab into her thigh. This time she didn’t fall asleep, too worried about being in a helo. She had never been in one and it only made it scarier having the sides being completely open. 

She gripped the pant leg of the SEAL closest to her. She didn’t even realize she had reached for the material until Clay took her hand off his leg and put it in his hand, clasping his other hand over top. He mouthed “you are safe.” She nodded, letting herself relax just a touch. Drowsy from the meds, her head drooped to the side. Clay took his hand and helped guide her head to his shoulder, getting her to lean against him. This rough group of men known for assaulting “the bad guys” rarely showed affection of any kind, let alone when others are watching, but the men knew that if they were sitting in Clays spot, they would have done the same thing. They had heard details of her captivity, all of them somewhat aware of what to expect, but they were horrified how much worse her condition actually was once they found her. Had they not gotten there when they did, this could have very easily never found her again.

After what felt like hours but was really only 20 minutes, the helo landed at what looked like a US military base. Several people were gathered outside, waiting for the rotors to stop so they could get to the aircraft. Clay pulled her to the edge of the helo. Clay didn’t even allow her to attempt to walk. Even if her legs would have let her, she felt she was too exhausted to make it inside. 

A man named Eric and a woman named Mandy were right inside already asking questions of the other men by the time Clay got her inside. She assumed Eric commanded Bravo team but she wasn’t sure who Mandy was. A woman in medical scrubs had rolled up with a gurney but Clay said ‘I’ve got her. Just show me where to go.” 

Turning back to Eric he said “I will be right back for AAR.” 

Eric nodded. She noticed the way Clay posed it as a statement but waited for Eric to “answer” him. She then knew for sure Bravo answered to Blackburn. As Clay carried her down the hallway, he told her Mandy was CIA while Trent informed the doctor of her injuries. Before even making it to her room, Mandy began asking her why she was in Dubai, who she was affiliated to, why anyone would capture her, did they ask about another woman and what they did to her. All the questions were making her head swim. 

She was thankful Clay stepped in and told her “She’s not one of your prisoners. She needs rest.” 

She countered “time is of the essence” as Clay responded “Isn’t it always” almost snidely. 

That got Mandy to back off for the moment but she knew she’d be seeing her again. She didn’t know much about the CIA but she doubted she could just ignore her. All she wanted was to get home and put this terrible event behind her. Clay left her with the doctor and headed back for the AAR. 

Hours later, there was a knock on the door to her room. Trent and Clay walked in before she could even answer. AAR was now complete and Trent wanted to check on his ‘patient.’ Clay said he’d ‘keep Trent company.’ Her shirt was off, bandages undone and sitting with a blanket over her bare lap when the two entered. Normally she would have been embarrassed, rushing to cover herself but she really didn’t care, she felt awful. Trent started talking to the doctor about her injuries again obviously not impacted by her state of undress while Clay stuttered “I’m sorry, I will leave.” Trent told Clay to stay though while Trent and the doctor left the room so Trent could see the xrays. She couldn’t help but notice the redness in Clays cheeks, embarrassed as he stood by the door. She also noticed he was trying not to stare at her back but was failing miserably. She had half a dozen whip marks across the backside of her body.

He startled when he heard her speak for the first time. He hadn’t heard her when she said a few words to Trent and Sonny when they first found her. After clearing her throat and accepting a glass of water from Clay, her voice was still hoarse, no doubt from her screams. 

“This was my first time traveling out of the US, I thought I did everything right, I thought the diner was safe…. it was public and in a nice area. They kept calling me Katie…..my name is Lyla. They put a rag to my face….then I passed out. I came to and I was tied up to the wall. I hurt…..everywhere. They hurt me more when I said I wasn’t….I wasn’t Katie. I don’t even know a ‘Katie.’ Then a westerner came in after maybe a day or two, I lost track. He told me I wasn’t lying….he said they did have the wrong person, but that I was still a “prize.” He said that I could be sold, a pretty young blonde, he called me, but that he wanted….well, he wanted to try out… the “goods” first.” 

There was no emotion in her voice, as if she was talking about someone else. Her eyes were fixed on her hands on her lap. She shivered so Clay took the extra blanket and wrapped it over her shoulders. When she adjusted, the blanket on her lap fell to the floor. As Clay picked it up in front of her, he was eye level with the table. He quickly rose, laying it back across her lap. 

Just then, the door opened and a woman in fatigues enters with a suitcase, Lyla’s suitcase. Before she could ask, the woman identified herself as Davis and explained when they found her empty hotel room, they grabbed her things to try to help with locating her. Lyla was relieved to have clothes to change into, to rid herself of having to put her old ones back on that were caked with blood and dirt, and her tears. Clay excused himself after Davis told her that she would help get her cleaned up for the plane ride home. 

Clay caught up to Trent who had just finished up with the doctor and headed back to get cleaned up himself before they flew home. Trent saw the look of horror in Clay’s eyes, realizing he knew what else had happened to her while in captivity. Trent nodded his head while saying “glad some of those bastards are dead.” Clay and Trent walked the rest of the way in silence, not sure what could even be said after learning she had been sexually brutalized by several of the men. Cuts and scrapes lined her inner thighs, bruises from strong grips as she was held down matched the bruising on her ribs and back. Clay couldn’t believe anyone could ever do something like this to a woman. 

As Clay packed up his things, Mandy popped her head in and asked if he had heard that the woman he rescued would be flying home with them as they didn’t feel comfortable putting her on a commercial flight in the state she was in. Clay figured that must have been why Mandy wasn’t in her room asking her questions in the infirmary. Clay felt a sense of relief that Lyla wasn’t going to be left on her own after enduring what she had gone through.

Clay didn’t know at the time that just as he was helping her get through the worst experience of her life, she would be the one to help him through the worst experience of his life as well.


	2. Find Clay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescued hostage flies home with Bravo, first spin up goes sideways and Clay is taken, what has been done to him has all the team sick, sexual abuse is mentioned but I don't describe how it happens

Chapter 2:Find Clay

As the guys were hanging up their hammocks in the airplane, Davis and Mandy, with Lyla in between them, her arms around their waists, boarded. He saw Sonny grab another hammock and string it up near his. No one uses a hammock except the team, even other military members end up in the seats along the backside of both sides of the airplane. Clay learned this the hard way the first time he rolled with Bravo. As Lyla tried to stop and sit after being told of the jump seats by Mandy, Davis said “Oh no you don’t. You will be up by us, where you can lay and rest.”

“Ive never used a hammock.” 

Sonny opened up the hammock and steadied it as Clay and Davis helped her settle down into it. The stinging in her ribs slowly subsided from being up on her feet. She was thankful she didn’t have to sit against the plane wall for the next 7,000 miles. 

Trent approached, saying “I have some meds for you now, then in two hours again.” 

“Alright,” Lyla said before taking the pills and water in his outstretched hands. 

He then turned to Mandy, “give her a couple hours to settle in.” 

Before Mandy can even utter a word he states “It’s a 17 hour flight. She needs rest.”

As Mandy stalked off, not liked being told what she can and can’t do, Lyla reached her hand out to touch Trents arm. 

“Thank you.” was all she said. Trent put his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“No need to thank me, it’s our job.” 

“I highly doubt you have been tasked to do what you’ve been doing for me, but I appreciate it nonetheless.” 

As she settled back into her hammock, she became aware that everyone on Bravo team was looking her way, all with anger in their eyes. Trent or Clay must have told them all of what happened. Physically assaulting a person is awful enough, but to sexually assault a person is unspeakable. When the rest of Bravo had learned about the rape, Sonny picked up his bag and threw it across the room cursing up a storm, Ray bowed his head for a quick prayer, Brock looked at Trent like he was speaking a foreign language and Jason landed a punch on the gated material sectioning off the bunk rooms cursing under his breath that one punch wasn’t enough, but he knew no amount would ever be “enough.” Clay’s stomach was still tied in knots from when he saw the damage to her legs. He had felt like he could throw up over it. Trent had thrown up, but only Clay knew that.

Back on the plane, the guys settled in for the long flight, a few requesting ambien to help them sleep on the way home. They’d been up for almost 30 hours straight. Clay strung his hammock up next to Lyla’s, with Sonny’s on the other side. The two men both sat down, looking at each other over the top of the prone female they had just rescued, their eyes meeting and both nodding, knowing that this mission had become personal because of the way she was treated. Both laid down but Sonny couldn’t sleep. Sonny had noticed the older he’s gotten, the harder it is for him sleep. Maybe it’s because of all that he has seen in his time as a Navy Seal, subconsciously playing in his mind as he tries to relax. Maybe now it’s the anger and rage he feels, maybe it’s the sadness he feels when he looks at her sleeping in the hammock. Too many emotions were bubbling up and he tried to squash them down but a lone tear escaped his eye. He quickly wiped it away hoping no one else saw. Of the entire team, he had the reputation of being able to mask his emotions better than anyone else, but not today. 

As he looked up to see if anyone had been watching him, he noticed Jason and Mandy in a heated discussion. Their voices were starting to carry and both Brock and Trent yelled from their hammocks that they needed to cool it so they could get back to sleep. He laughed because Jason outranked the other 5 but when it came to sleep, they took it when they could, even if that meant calling out their team leader. 

Just like Trent said, he came back to give Lyla some more meds, but before she could fall back asleep, both Jason and Mandy walked over. She could tell they were upset at each other. Mandy stated “We can go up front, easier to talk up there.” 

As Mandy walked back towards the front past the hammocks, Jason let out a deep sigh as he looked at Lyla. 

“Are you good to get up? If not, you don’t have to yet.” 

Lyla nodded her head, she knew she had to answer the questions she could at some point so why not now. Jason steadied the hammock while she slowly swung her feet over the side. Clay stirred when Jason stepped back into him on accident. 

“Go back to sleep, Lyla is going with me to the front.”

“I will too” Clay stated as he rubbed his eyes. 

Jason wasn’t sure why he wanted to join but he didn’t oppose it either. Maybe then Mandy will realize that she’s being too pushy if told by someone other than him. Mandy gave Jason a disapproving look when she saw Clay helping Lyla up the steps to the upper level in the massive military plane. She didn’t like an audience as she tried to pull info from someone whether a terrorist or a hostage, but it was clear Jason was okay with it. 

Before Lyla even sat down, pain in her eyes from her injuries, Mandy was already asking questions. She hadn’t been able to even respond before Clay interjected “don’t forget she’s a rescued hostage.” 

Mandy dismissed his comment while shooting Jason a look. He just glared back, agreeing with his 6. She has to ask questions in hopes of getting answers that could lead them to the westerner Lyla spoke of. He had taken over for the last leader of this group connected to acts of terror against Americans all over the world, including human trafficking.

“Why were you in country?”

“Vacation. First time.” Lyla’s voice barely above a whisper.

“When to when?”

“What day is it?”

“Thursday”

“10 days ago, going home today.” 

Jason smirked at that answer, grateful she had some humor left in her despite the weeks events.

“When were you suppose to go home?”

“2 days ago”

The questions continued, asking her more about her stay and what all she did. Then Mandy asked “Do you know this woman?” as she held up a picture of a woman who looked somewhat similar to Lyla.

After telling her no, Mandy probed deeper telling her to really focus and think back if maybe she even just saw her by chance while on an excursion. After thinking for a moment, Lyla again stated she had never seen the woman, who turned out to be the CIA operative the militant group had been looking for. He name was Katie. Then the questions turned to where and how she was abducted, explaining that it was probably ether on the rag they held to her face.  
Lyla then told Mandy that they kept telling her that she was lying to them, that she was the operative with the US military sent to spy on the group. Lyla continued to deny she knew who and what they were talking about. She guessed it was a few days before the only westerner of the bunch told her that he now believed her because he had heard from one of his men that they did in fact have the wrong person. Lyla became hopeful that they would just let her go but she knew it was doubtful. She didn’t know how much longer she could survive. That’s when the westerner informed her that despite not being whom they wanted, she would still fetch a handsome price to traffickers.

Lyla stopped speaking as her voiced cracked, her throat still raw from her screaming. Mandy urged her to continue to tell them what they did to her and whether she picked up any information spoken between the groups members which would help her to track down the leader. Mandy knew Lyla had a basic knowledge of the Arabic language, but Lyla relayed they often talked too fast for her to understand.

Tears began to spill out of Lyla’s eyes, her vision once again blurry as overwhelming panic enveloped her as she thought back to what they did to her. As she tried to wipe the tears away, she flinched at the pain it caused when her hands touched her cheeks. Lyla startled when Clay put a hand on her forearm, but she didn’t pull away. Jason knew what a panic attack looked like. He’d deny ever having one, but he knows that’s not the truth. Jason told Mandy that it’s enough questioning for now and they still had 12 hours before getting back home. 

“I decide whether we are through or not, and we aren’t,” Mandy bit back, feeling like she was on the verge of getting what she needed.

Clay stood up, telling Mandy that he will go over her head to Eric, who did have authority over her when on a rescue mission. She frowned as she sat back, pushing off from the table before looking at Jason. He didn’t take his eyes off Mandy, his glare once again burning through her. He’s the one SEAL she never wanted to be on their bad side. Mandy huffed, upset that the men of Bravo had made this mission personal. When things become personal, it makes it that much harder to deal with.

“Fine, but I need answers before we land.” With that, she got up and walked to one of the cots to lay down.

Before the others got up from their chairs, Trent had her pills and water for her. She couldn’t believe it had only been two hours since she got up. It felt so much longer. Clay sat next to her as he tried to get her to breath deeper and evenly to help calm herself down. His eyes never left hers until she was finally able to relax. Trent noticed she bled through the bandage on her forearm and asked if he could check her over since she was up. She liked Trent. His voice was kind and while his touch may be a bit rough, he did only what absolutely needed to be done. 

As Jason excused himself and went to talk to Eric, Clay retrieved Trent’s med bag. Clay then took the blanket Trent had and held it up as Trent helped Lyla remove her shirt so Trent could check the wrapping on her back. Again, Lyla startled when Clay reached for her, but just like before, she didn’t pull away. Once Trent was done with her upper body over and her shirt was pulled back down over her injuries, Clay spread the blanket over her lap. Trent helped her pull down her pants so he could look at the wounds on her inner thighs. He undid gauze around both thighs and softly, well as soft as he was capable of, spread the antibiotic cream over her thighs. The higher up he got, the tenser she became understandably. Clay gently squeezed her hand as Trent continued. She wanted to close her legs, but Trent gently applied pressure for her to keep them open. Lyla knew she had to let him treat the cuts and scrapes but she was still rattled. When he was done spreading the cream, he wrapped both thighs up in gauze. Trent helped her stand so she could pull her pants up. Clay reached for the back of the material to help slide the pants over her hips that were severely bruised with hand prints. 

Without words, Clay helped her to her hammock, noticing more tears streaming down her face. He didn’t know what to say, he still couldn’t get his head wrapped around what she had endured. There probably was no way he ever could, it was so cruel. He had seen the worst of the worst when it came to his job, but he hadn’t encountered this before. They were an assault team, not hostage rescue. 

Clay helped her into the hammock while saying “If you need anything just wake Sonny or me okay?” 

She nodded in agreement, her tears slowing. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep as the events of what the westerner did played in her head. She had to figure out how to verbalize it all so she could be done with Mandy. She had a feeling Mandy was more concerned about the westerner and his group than about her well being. She also started to wonder what happened to Katie or if they even knew.

Clay tried to fall back asleep but couldn’t. He was worried about Lyla and how she will survive all of what happened to her. Clay noticed she was still awake as he got up to talk with Jason. He gave her a sympathetic smile and another squeeze to the shoulder before he walked away letting her know Sonny was right next to her.

“Why is she different?” Jason asked before Clay had said a word.

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you rocking the boat with Mandy telling her you’d go over her head.”

“I could ask you the same thing. You never stopped me from anything I said or did.”

Jason dropped his head into his hands before saying “I’ve never rescued someone who had been raped before, the fear in her eyes while the man held her……” he trailed off, not sure what to say. There weren’t words to describe what he saw in her eyes. 

“It’s partly from what was done to her and partly from Mandy’s attitude. Lyla should just be able to forget it all.” 

Jason nodded in agreement with his youngest member. “Stay with her even when Mandy talks to her again, tell her it’s my decision.” Before Clay headed back to his own hammock, Jason told him that she’s going to need professional help so not to expect he can change her mindset in just 7,000 miles. This wasn’t a problem they could fix. They could help her get back to VA in the best shape possible before she’s handed off to the medical staff there to be evaluated.

She fidgeted as she sat across the table from Mandy again, her gauze itching and her back stinging. She was thankful Clay was sitting with her. He moved his hand to put on her thigh to comfort her, but she pulled away. He didn’t know if it was from pain or from being assaulted, or maybe both. He said “sorry” and placed his hand on his own thigh before Mandy started in on questions again.

Through this line of questioning, Mandy let Lyla take her time responding, She may desperately want any info regarding the westerner, any detail that Lyla may think isn’t even worth mentioning, but she did have a heart. The CIA has been trying to obtain info on the new leader, who they have confirmed isn’t native to Saudi Arabia. Mandy felt tears welling up in her own eyes as Lyla described being held down, pinned by the weight of the westerner as he forced himself into her repeatedly until he came, multiple times a day. Two of the men killed when she was rescued had also raped her and she feared they were going to again before the SEALS found her. Her voice had no affect as she tried to distance herself from her words to avoid feeling any pain.

When Lyla mentioned the man had hazel eyes and a scar through his left eyebrow, Mandy hastily looked through the stack of papers in front of her until she found the picture she needed. Before showing it to her, she asked if she remembered anything else. Lyla described hearing him say to the others how lucky they were to have a man of his caliber and knowledge as their leader now, how he “took out” their past leader showing how vulnerable their group was before hammering down on their behaviors. He mentioned a term most often used by military, specifically the Navy.

As Mandy turned the picture around, Mel put her hand to her mouth, verifying it was the man who had abducted her. Clay put his arm around Lyla as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder. He put his free hand on top of her hands that were clasped together over her chest. He pulled her hands away from herself and towards him, giving her more room to lean into him as he wrapped that arm around her too.

When Lyla was able to speak again, she told Mandy “That..That’s the man….He had two men with him…The bigger man that guarded me, I had seen him at my hotel the day I checked in” as the memory came flooding back.

“What was he doing?”

“He was in the lobby getting the trash from each container, he had on a uniform. I walked right up to him and handed him my empty cup, I should have never…..”

“Hey, you couldn’t have known what was going on,” Clay softly spoke into her ear, her head still against his chest. The rhythm of his heart was calming.

“Son of a bitch” Mandy muttered under her breath as she excused herself, her SAT phone in her hand. All Lyla and Clay could hear is that the man she recognized is former military who was never drafted into a tier one team because he was “bottom fived” after the first vote. He then left the military a year later and recently his name had been popping up throughout intel in Saudi Arabia. Clay kissed the top of Mel’s head, not catching what he did til he did it, hoping it would help comfort her.

Mandy motioned for Eric to come to the table with her as Jason was now walking their way when he saw how frantic Mandy was on the phone.

“Whats going on?” both Eric and Clay asked.

Mandy tells them all who the westerner is, both Eric and Jason muttering “bastard” and “holy shit.” Clay looked around for an answer before Mandy filled him in on Kellen, the man in the picture, and how they knew he was very anti military after being “bottom fived.” Now knowing he was involved, the team knew Lyla may not be safe even in the US. The group would avenge his death as they would never allow a “loose end” even if he had come across her as a mistake.  
Eric still can’t believe who the man turned out to be but says “makes sense, he knows how we operate and to avoid detection. Well almost knows how to evade detection.”

Jason speaks up next. “To think I even considered him for the team. After he showed no ability to work with a team though, I crossed him off, wasn’t surprised to see him voted out the first go around. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d ring his neck.”

“Thank you Lyla , I’m sorry to put you through all of this, I truly am,” Mandy told Lyla in a soft kind voice. Lyla didn’t know she had any other tones to her voice despite angry and direct.

“Did you find Katie?” It’s the first question Lyla had asked since they rescued her.

“I’m sorry, I can’t disclose—“ Mandy began to say when Eric cut her off. 

“She has a right to know.”

Mandy huffed and told her that Katie was a CIA asset sent in to glean info from the group. They lost contact with her around the same time Lyla went missing, but they didn’t know who Lyla was or what happened. The only reason anyone knew Lyla was missing is because she never checked out of her hotel or showed up for her flight so the US embassy was called, assuming something had happened to her when they found her phone and wallet still in the room. Up until they landed in Saudi Arabia, they thought the woman they were rescuing was Katie. It wasn’t until their infil they were informed Katie had been located dead, in her vehicle on the outskirts of the town. Bravo wondered then if this was a trap but when they heard Lyla’s screams, they knew they had to save whoever was being held against their will.  
Lyla began to tremble and Clay could feel her breathing pick up. The next instant Clay had her up on her feet heading back to her hammock, not even asking if it was okay. 

As they approached the runway, Lyla was gathering her things to exit the plane when all of a sudden, Eric rushed to her and told her he needed to talk to her immediately.

“There is an uptick in chatter already, an american rescue team has been identified in rescuing you. I don’t know how they got your name but it’s already being written up for the papers. If the group wasn’t already looking for you, well, they may now.”

“What am I suppose to do? I have nowhere to go. If they know who I am then they can easily find where I live an hour west of here.” The panic was evident in her voice.

“We will provide protective detail at a different location, but since we know Kellen was tied to the Navy at one point, we can’t rule out he has an inside man since the only way you could be identified was by the local police force in Saudi Arabia or by the CIA who knew you had been rescued.” She could hear Mandy yelling at someone on the phone, glad she wasn’t the recipient of that call.

Sonny interjected “I can take you to wherever you need to go once we unload. Eric, do you have a location yet?”

“No, we can’t use a safe house because we can’t trust anyone outside of this team. I also don’t know who I can contact to protect her until this threat is neutralized. You are the only team state side and the MP’s were just deployed.”

Ray had walked up to them all discussing the situation and motioned Brock, Trent and Jason over. 

“Trent, do you need to continue caring for her wounds at this point?” He nodded. “Does she need any medical care at the base?”

“no” He knew where Ray was going with this.

“Then we get her off this base as quickly as we can, she can stay with me for now.” Jason stated.

Brock spoke up “Jason, both you and Ray have kids at home. It’s too dangerous even if we are ready for the worst. “

“We will still help protect her, take turns” Ray stated. Lyla looked around at the group of men surrounding her as they made a plan of action.

Sonny piped up that he is the only one with a spare bedroom for her so they all agree she will go there, all of them talking like she wasn’t even there. No one even asked her what she thought. All she knew is she couldn’t go home and she didn’t want to be alone. They all grabbed their gear and surrounded her as they deboarded the plane. Once inside, Eric took her to his office while the men sorted out their cages, all happy to be back on US soil with no injuries for once. Clay popped his head in after knocking, telling Lyla that he will be driving her over to Sonny’s because her ribs may not take too kindly to riding on Sonnys motorcycle. She would have loved to if she wasn’t in such rough shape. After Trent gave Sonny the instructions with her meds, she was whisked away to Clays car and on the road to her “new home” for the time being.

As they were walking into Sonnys place, Clays asked her a question.

“Is there anyone that is missing you and needs to know you are safe?”

She just shook her head, not going into detail how her parents both passed away when she was 17 from a boating accident, had no extended family because her mom was an only child with older parents who have since passed on and her dad grew up in foster care. She had no friends as she had just recently relocated to Virginia and she would go weeks without contacting her publisher while she wrote up new works of her own. She couldn’t imagine this would last that long.  
After Lyla had finished her take out meal Clay picked up for her, she excused herself to go lay down. Clay and Sonny remained in the living room watching the sports channel when Sonnys phone rang. “I will be right there.” He turns to Clay and tells him “Davis’s car broke down. I’m going to get her and take her home.”

Clay knocked on Lyla's door after Sonny left, hoping he wasn’t waking her. When there was no answer, he pushed the door open, but didn’t find her on the bed. He could hear the water turn on in the bathroom. Clay thought to himself she probably wanted a shower to wash off what she could. The guys had all cleaned up on base. Before he turns to leave the room, he hears her curse, then a clatter of noise. Clay darts to the bathroom door telling her he was coming in. He found her sitting on the side of the tub trying to remove the gauze around her arm. Clay sucked in his breath sharply as her injuries were on full display. She was too worn out to even close her legs. Clay tentatively knelt down and gently helped her with the remaining bandages and gauze on her back, all the while watching her face for clues he should stop. She was unsteady as she stepped into the shower. Clay knew it was too unsafe to leave her. He stripped down to his boxers, knowing he could throw them in the dryer when he was done. He stepped into the shower to keep a hand on her as she washed herself off. She didn’t pull away, knowing that he wouldn’t hurt her. Being able to see all her injuries together, he silently cursed, vowing he would take out the entire group that did this to her. 

Had she not been in so much discomfort, she would have noticed just good looking Clay was. No wonder one of his nicknames was Mr. GQ. He was in peak physical condition, muscles on top of muscles. His bright blue eyes would have put her into a trance. His mop of blonde curls and beard made him look rugged. He had scars all over his body as being a SEAL meant high risk of injury but she wouldn’t have cared had she noticed them. If she had to guess, she’d say he’s late 20’s, at least a couple years younger than her 32. 

She stopped when she got to her legs. Her breathing sped up as waves of pain washed over her as she bent over. Clay straightened her up and took the rag and knelt down, the warm water now spraying in his face. He gently washed the wounds on her legs, careful not to hold her thighs too tight where the bruises were. Trent said it was fine to clean the wounds as long as they were covered back up with bandages. Barely above a whisper, Clay hears her say “Thank you.”  
He doesn’t know what to say back so he stays silent, again.

Clay helps her dry off then dries off himself, wrapping the towel around his waist. As he headed to put his boxers in the dryer, she headed to her room for clean clothes. She slips on her underwear and a t shirt before he comes back then sits down as she knows what comes next, dressing the wounds. The ointment stings but then the cream soothes the cuts. Once she’s all taped up and resting in bed, Clay goes back to the couch and the beer he hadn’t opened yet, still in his towel. Only 5 more minutes on the dryer.

Sonny looks at the clock as he’s awoken by her screams. It’s 2:34 am. He rushes out of bed across the living room but not before he grabs the gun under his pillow. He finds Clay already in the spare room clicking the safety on his own gun. Sonny does the same then the two set their pieces aside. It was late when Sonny from Davis’s and Clay had already fallen asleep on the couch so he didn’t wake him.

Clay sat on the edge of the bed, turned so he can face her. She has one of his hands enveloped in her hands and Clay was stroking her hair with the other, about the only place he can touch without causing pain. She leans into him, having awoken from her nightmare, seeking comfort. He took his hand from hers and gently wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. Lyla barely got out “they were going to…….to do it….again.” before she began sobbing, her body racked as she fought to stop the uncontrollable fear from invading her mind yet again. Sonny sat down behind her, his hand on her shoulder, whispering to her that she was safe over and over as Clay gently rocked her in his arms, much like a father would a child trying to comfort them, something his dad never did for him. His jackass SEAL of a father was either never around or was the reason he needed someone to comfort him. 

“I’m sorry” she breathlessly got out in between sobs.

“Don’t be sorry, we’ve got you for as long as you need us.” Sonny softly said, fighting back his emotions yet again. His younger sister went through a similar situation. Clay still really didn’t know what to say, he just can’t believe how a man could hurt a woman this way, or any way. In his mind as a SEAL, it’s his job to protect those who can’t protect themselves. He silently sends a prayer of gratitude to Ray’s higher power that they found her because if they had learned Katie was dead before infil, they would have never gone in. He shakes the thought out of his head.

Once her sobbing subsided, Clay had her take her meds again and lay down. She became noticeably more anxious as they went to leave the room so the two turned back around. Clay layed on the bed on top of the blankets on the far side of her while Sonny grabbed a pillow and laid down on the floor saying it was better for his back than that mattress after Clay offered to switch. Clay noticed her relaxing now that she wasn’t alone and soon slip off to dream land once again. She had the sleeve of his t shirt in her hand, like she did on the helo with his pant leg. Sonny prayed that she could rest and not be woken up by more nightmares, that life had already been so cruel to her.

The three were all awoken by the knocking at the door. In walked Trent, not waiting for an invitation. Sonny and Clay both left the room after Trent raised his eyebrow at them. He’d get details when he was done checking her over, even though Clay had already seen her naked more than once. Another knock at the door brought Jason. He let Clay know he would stay for a while so Clay could get home and so Sonny could get Davis’s car to the repair shop for her. Clay didn’t want to leave her but he knew he had some things to do at home.

None of the guys had personally asked her any questions, they must have gotten any they had answered through Mandy or they didn’t need to know. It ended up being the latter as Jason explained it’s their job on missions like this to rescue then hand off the rescued person to someone else. In this case it was Mandy. He also said typically they don’t have contact with the rescued hostages once handed over and not once had a hostage ever flown on the plane back to the US. 

“I’m grateful Mandy found out what she did though otherwise you would have been alone at your place and who knows what would have happened” Lyla wondered if this isn’t typical then why was she different?

“I feel like a burden, there has to be others who need you more than me.”

Jason informed her that her case was deemed top priority for BRAVO now that they identified an ex SEAL’s involvement.

“Even if you weren’t high priority, we’d still be doing this, you aren’t safe on your own especially not at your place, but if it makes you feel any better, we are off rotation for the next week. It’s like a vacation from spin ups but we still have to go to base and train so we wouldn’t be out saving people and killing the bad guys anyway.” 

“That does make me feel better. Still a burden you have to all babysit but at least I know I’m not interfering with the teams missions.” Jason patted her shoulder and told her she just needed to hang in there and it would all get sorted out. He told her Mandy is like a pitbull when she has someone in her sites, she won’t let go. He also apologized for how rough Mandy was the day before as she typically doesn’t deal with people face to face, most of her work is done through intel always hunting the guys we get sent in to capture or kill.

A few days after Bravo went back on rotation, it had been deemed safe for Lyla to stay in her own place about an hour from the base. Clay stayed with her the first two nights but then got spun up. Jason asked Emma to check in on Lyla when she could. 

The ringing of her cell phone woke her out of her slumber. It was Sonny. 

“Clay is being flown back, he got hurt, we will be with him, but thought you should know since you two…..uhhh….well…he’s been at your place a few nights.” She didn’t take the time to tell Sonny that nothing had happened between Clay and her because the more pressing matter was Clay’s injuries.

“We will land in 3 hours.” Sonny told Lyla before hanging up.

*Before the phone call*  
When the team got the first call when they went back on rotation after settling Lyla in her place, they learned they were going to a dangerous part of the world as usual where abductions and death run rampant. While no team member died, one was taken alive.

“Sonny, find me the sheers. Jason give him 2 of morphine. Ray give him 1 of Benadryl BEFORE the morphine. Brock, let him hold onto Cerb if he regains consciousness,” Trent barked. 

After Sonny handed over the sheers, Jason ordered Brock to stand watch. While no enemy combatants showed on ISR, it didn’t mean they weren’t coming. Those who retreated were undoubtedly gathering more men for another attack. 

“Benadryl in……1 morphine in…….2 morphine in.” Jason informed their medic while tossing the used needles to the side.

Once the meds were in, Trent cut Clay out of his clothes. The team had found him bound in a cellar, semiconscious, but when he saw his brothers, he passed out. The militants had only had him for 16 hours but that was 16 hours too long. 

“Shit,” Trent cursed when he realized pants were the only clothing item Clay had on. It meant he had been completely naked at one point, definitely not a good sign.

“Brock, spread the sheet out, we need to get him off this ground.” 

On 3, Trent cradled Clay’s head in his hands while the others took a limb and carefully positioned him on the piece of cloth. As soon as Bravo had found him, he passed out from the pain. Trent needed answers from Clay about what they did to him but he didn’t want to withhold pain relief, at least not until he could control it better. 

“Trent?” was all Jason had to say to get the medic to tell him how their youngest member was doing.

“He has gashes on his back that have stopped bleeding, a knife gash along his left side from ribs to pelvis about a quarter of an inch deep, painful but not life threatening, butterfly enclosures holding it for now, the start of bruising on his thighs and upper arms, eyes are swollen but orbital bones are not broken and pupils are even and reactive. Bleeding is controlled, 5 mikes to exfil,” Trent said with a sigh.

“Anything else?” Jason asked looking away from Clay.  
“If there had been anything else, I would have told you,” Trent snapped back. “No, Jason, he has an open head wound I didn’t tell you………oh, shit.”

The entire group of men looked at Trent as the color drained from his face. He had started to wrap the sheet over Clay’s bottom half, but undid it when he realized what Jason was asking. Everyone kept their eyes on Trent, avoiding looking down at Clay as he now lay naked as his pants had to be cut off. 

Trent steadied his hands as he checked for any signs of sexual abuse. Awkward didn't begin to describe it. When done, he wrapped the sheet back over Clay and asked Sonny to hold him. He knew if Clay woke up he would be the calmest in the Texans hands. Sonny shrugged his pack off and set his weapon down before he slid down a tree to support him while Trent gently transferred Clay to him. Jason and Brock helped move Clay so he was across Sonny’s lap to keep him off the cold ground. Sonny wrapped one arm around Clay’s back and then used his other arm to pull Clay close to his chest. This was just as much for Sonny as it was for Clay. The burly Texan hadn’t been able to breathe when his best friend and teammate was kidnapped while on what was supposed to be a routine mission.

As soon as the transfer was complete, Trent turned his back to the group and vomited. He heaved so hard, Brock got down on his knees with their medic to hold him from falling forward into his own spewage. Trent swished his mouth out before turning back to the group, now looking paler than he had before. Jason hoped he just had a bug but he knew that wasn’t the case. 

“No um…, no penetration but uh, his um….. his balls are swollen and some redness along his shaft,” Trent managed to get out before he was back on the ground heaving. 

Sonny held on tighter to the passed out kid on his lap. He unconsciously rocked him like a mother would a baby and kept repeating “it’s gonna be okay.” The other members of Bravo weren’t sure if he was saying it for Clay or for himself as Clay was passed out cold. Brock, Ray and Jason all found themselves on their knees, trying to keep the rising bile down. They all had seen enough to not be squeamish, but the thought of their youngest member being “handled” by militants was too much for even the strongest of stomachs. All 3 lost their battle and passed a bottle of mouth rinse to each other once they were all sure their heaving was over. The only reason Sonny hadn’t been sick is because he had Clay in his arms. He knows though that when this is all over, he will have his head in a toilet too. 

All 4 men looked at the bundle in Sonny’s arms with overwhelming sadness in their hearts. Trent shrugged his back pack off and handed Jason his rifle to hold. Next, he took off his tactical gear followed by his long sleeve camo shirt. He had a compression shirt on underneath. Brock followed suit but instead of a shirt, he dropped his pants and pulled off his compression leggings he wore under his combat pants. Sonny repositioned Clay with the help of Ray and Jason to sit him between his legs with his back against Sonny’s chest. Trent opened up the top of the sheet exposing Clays upper body. Sonny got a better look at the lashes on his back and shuddered, looking away. Clay’s normally taught muscles were limp as the group juggled his weight. Once the shirt had been tugged over his head and down to his waist, Trent opened the bottom of the sheet. All of the guys kept their eyes again on Trent as he maneuvered the pants up Clay’s legs and over his backside. 

As a medic, he never thought he’d ever have a day like this. Sure, blown up body parts and TBI’s from concussions, but this? Never this. No training manual he had ever read told him how to deal with this. Trent wrapped the sheet back around Clay as Sonny lifted the Kid off the ground and back onto his thighs. 

“What’s the plan Boss?” Brock asked as Cerb layed her head in Clays lap. Before he could respond, Jason was interrupted by TOC. 

“Bravo 1, this is HAVOC, sit rep.” 

“Bravo 1-5 secured Bravo 6, we need evac’ed out, can’t travel this terrain with one injured.” 

“Bravo 1, what is Bravo 6’s current condition?” Jason paused, not sure how to answer to answer that. The whole support team didn’t need to know the details. 

“HAVOC, this is Bravo 4, Bravo 6 is unconscious due to pain, lashes on back, knife gash on front, swelling and bruising in multiple locations. He’s stable but we are risking infection the longer we are out here.” 

“Copy 4, we can get a helo 2 klicks from your current location, will have medical waiting here at the base. HAVOC out.” 

The men just looked at each other. 2 klicks was a short distance but not on steep mountainous terrain carrying a litter, but it was the best, and only, option they currently had.

It took the team 30 mikes to reach the helos. Clay had begun to stir about 5 mikes out when he heard the thudding of the chopper blades. The men all cursed, wishing Clay had stayed passed out til they returned to base. Brock, Sonny and Trent were the first into the helo and hauled Clay up from Ray and Jason’s arms. Sonny sat with his back against the frame and motioned for them to put Clay in his arms. During the transfer, Clay’s eyes flickered open and he tensed, making it harder to move him. As soon as Clay was with Sonny, Trent dug out another shot of morphine. The Kid wasn’t acting like he was in pain but Trent didn’t want him to fully wake on the helo as he knew how combative Clay could be until he knew he was safe. Sonny fought back the tears. He pressed the side of Clay’s face to his chest and thumbed his cheek for comfort. Even after Clay slipped back into unconsciousness, Sonny held him close.

The flight was only 10 mikes but it felt like hours. When they touched down, Sonny was reluctant to let go of Clay but Trent promised him he’d be with Clay until the others could see him. 

“I got him til we get to the doors,” Sonny hollered over the dying chopper blades. 

Trent nodded and helped Sonny slide to the edge of the aircraft. Sonny wasn’t going to put Clay on the gurney because he knew they’d strap him down and no one on the team wanted that to happen. As soon as they stepped inside, Trent took his teammate from Sonny and disappeared behind double doors marked Medical Staff Only. Sonny scanned the waiting room for a restroom but he knew he wouldn’t make it. He grabbed the closest trash can and everything he had fought to keep down came up. His sides ached from the heaving. He felt a hand on his shoulder and mouth rinse came into view when he had ceased vomiting. Sonny then felt two sets of strong but gentle hands help lift him up to a chair. No one spoke until Eric reached the team, herding them into an empty room just down the hall. 

“I need to know what else happened to him.” Eric stated. 

Jason wasn’t surprised Eric knew there was more to the story then he was told. 

“Jason, you’ve never allowed Trent to answer a sitrep for you,” he said, giving away how he knew he should ask for the full assessment.  
Jason still couldn’t bring himself to say what Clay went through so Eric turned to Sonny. His hitched breath told Eric it wasn’t something any of them wanted to talk about but he had to know. 

“he uh, umm, the bastards, uh, “handled” him. Trent found…Trent saw….” Ray stepped in to finish for Sonny. The words hurt his heart as he forced them out. 

“Trent found swelling and abrasions around his private area, bruises on his upper thighs, no uh, he didn’t, damn!” Ray cursed. “Trent didn’t see signs of penetration.” Erics mouth was agape at hearing the news. He ran a hand across his face then closed his eyes, tilting his head towards the ceiling as he fought back the rage he felt. 

When he had collected himself, he asked, “Does Clay remember anything?” Jason shrugged his shoulders. 

“He passed out as soon as he saw us and then only stirred as we loaded him on the helo but never woke up.”

Eric paced the room, cursing the thin intel that led the men into an ambush and promising that someone would pay for green lighting the op.


	3. Shower for Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay needs help getting cleaned up so the team can fly home, he begins to show signs of PTSD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 got insanely long so I cut it down and made what I cut down into Chapter 3. Be ready for this chapter called Shower for Two

Chapter 3: Shower for Two

Clay could hear a machine beep and he could smell antiseptic before he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. Sonny stood against the wall looking out the window. When Clay cleared his throat, Sonny rushed to his side. 

“Hey there sleepyhead,” Sonny tried to joke but emotion clouded his words. He tussled the younger mans blonde curls with one hand as he put his other on the bed rail.

“How…long?” Clay managed to croak. His body felt like he had not only been hit by a Mack truck but had also been backed up over and hit again by said truck.

“You’ve been at base for 6 hours. Helo picked us up about 2 klicks from where we found you. 

“How bad?” Clay asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Sonny wasn’t sure what to tell him. 

“Why on my side? The lashes?” Clay asked when Sonny didn’t respond. 

“Yeah, the lashes, plus the gash down your side. Eyes are swollen and bruised but nothing is broken.” 

Clay could feel the pain in his face as he couldn’t open his eyes as far as he’d like. 

“I hurt…all over.”

Sonny put the IV pump in Clay’s hand so Clay could press the button for morphine. Before the medication knocked him out, Clay looked down at the floor, trying to steady his voice. 

“They…They touched…me...I felt them……it hurt,” was all the Kid got out before Sonny placed a hand back on his head, smoothing back the mop of curls he had just tussled while taking Clay’s hand in his other, firmly but gently giving it a squeeze. 

“I know.” 

“Does everyone?”

“Just us…plus Blackburn…no one else…not even Davis or Mandy.”

Sonny watched as Clay’s eyes closed and his breathing evened out. He thumbed Trents name on his phone. ‘He remembers’ was all he needed to type. As Trent read the message, he closed his own eyes as he told the rest of Bravo what Sonny had just sent him. 

A few hours later, Trent sent Sonny to pack up and get some rest. When Clay was ready to fly home, they’d all be leaving. He settled into the uncomfortable chair as Clay awoke to the beeping of his IV running out. Trent silenced it and hit the Call Nurse light. Clay pulled away as the nurse reached to remove the IV. His eyes were wild with fear. 

“I got it,” Trent said calmly, putting his hand on Clay’s arm as he waited for the nurse to take his hint and exit.

“Think you are up to getting in the shower? Sooner we get you ready, sooner we can get you home,” Trent informed him, although he felt like he was pressuring Clay. He knew the Kid would rather be home recuperating, but he did just survive 16 hours at the hands of enemy combatants.

Clay didn’t respond. He got up on his elbow as he was still on his side and tried to swing his legs over the edge of the bed. Trent didn’t say a word as he helped Clay. He knew how vulnerable it felt when others had to help you. Trent wanted him washed up to minimize risk of infection and assess his injuries more closely. Trent knew he’d be showering too as there was no way he was letting Clay stand in the tub unassisted. He may have been able to get to the toilet with minimal help but between the meds and the trauma, Trent knew he wouldn’t be able to keep himself upright as well as wash up. The nurse had already brought in a clean gown and towels, but Trent left the gown where it lay as Davis had already gathered an array of Clay’s personal items including boxers, a t shirt and sweatpants. She wasn’t sure what all he could use or wear with the injuries she knew about.

Trent gathered the items he would need to wash Clay as well as clean out his wounds and set them in the bathroom while turning the shower on so it could warm up. Next, he helped Clay to his feet but stood still for a few moments as Clay steadied himself. Their 8 steps to the shower felt like 8 miles. Trent sat Clay down on the covered toilet. He reached around Clay to untie the gown and felt Clay lean away from him. Clay dropped his gaze as if he were ashamed of his response. Trent knew that although Clay was one badass tier One Operator, PTSD didn’t discriminate. Just because he had pushed through all the physical and mental trauma he’d already suffered on missions, it didn’t mean squat now that he’s been sexually assaulted. That is in its’ own category. 

Trent stripped down to his boxers revealing his taught muscles from hours in the gym and down range. Clay noticed the scar on his lower leg from Mexico when they had been trapped in that church. His hands were weathered from time out in the elements but he knew those hands were also extremely well trained for being both a SEAL and a medic. Those hands had saved him more than once.

“Strip show for me?” Clay joked weakly, trying to lighten the mood after he reacted to Trent getting close to him.

“I’m getting in the shower with you, can’t have you hurting yourself worse.” 

Normally, Clay would have objected but he knew Trent was right. Clay knew that if he wanted a shower, this was the only way it was going to happen. Trent held Clay under one arm as Clay pushed off the toilet seat with his other hand so he could stand up. 

“How come I don’t get boxers?” Clay asked.

Trent didn’t answer him knowing that Clay didn’t expect him to. If Trent needed to clean up his wounds, he’d want ALL of his wounds washed.

Clay stood facing the stream of water, letting it hit his face and run down his front side. Trent turned Clay to face him so the water could rinse his back. Trent could see the sadness in the Kid’s eyes and offered an empathetic smile.

“Damnit that stings,” Clay moaned as the water felt like piercing needles along his lash marks. 

Now that Clay was completely soaked, Trent handed Clay a washrag laden with soap. Trent knew Clay would want to do all that he could himself as he was already embarrassed he needed help to shower in the first place. Clay ran the rag over his face, chest and arms then behind his neck. He let Trent wipe over the knife wound on his lower abdomen. 

“Let me wash your hair, make sure I didn’t miss any bumps or cuts.” 

Clay bent his head forward as Trent added shampoo to his mess of curls and raked his scalp with his fingers. Satisfied he hadn’t missed anything, he let Clay rinse his hair out. Clay closed his eyes as the water ran down his face. He felt Trents hands on his upper arms when Trent was ready for him to turn around so he could start washing his back. It felt like he was scraping his back. He groaned but didn’t move. He knew that whatever Trent had to do was necessary and fighting him would just delay the inevitable. 

Even though Clay had only been on the team for a year, he completely trusted Trent. That type of trust is what makes Bravo team work as one. There is no one else Clay would give his life over to than Trent. Time and time again, he’s pulled Bravo teammates back from the edge of death. 

Trent had Clay turn around to rinse his back off while he lathered up the wash rag again. Trent didn’t want Clay bending over for fear he split open the gash on his stomach. Trent watched Clay’s eyes as he got down on one knee. Trent started with Clay’s feet then worked his way up. The bruises were deeper the further up he went. He could feel Clay tensing his legs and hear his breathing become rapid. Clay braced himself against the shower door with one hand, backing up into the corner as far away as he could get. Trent stopped mid thigh on Clay and tried to calm him down.

“It’s just me Kid, just me. I’m not going to hurt you,” Trent calmly told Clay as he rose to both of his feet. Once Clay seemed to relax a bit, Trent put the rag back in Clays hand. 

“Go at your pace,” he told Clay. 

Clay slowly pushed the rag down over his private area, but let Trent help him get the underside. The sting from scrubbing made him forget the wounds on his back. Trent couldn’t tell if the Kid was crying or not due to the water from the shower, but Clay was gasping for air. Trent immediately recognized it as a panic attack. He knew Clay couldn’t help it. He instructed Clay to breath. In for 4, out for 4. Trent quickly turned him to face the water to get the last of the soap off then helped him out of the shower. Trent wrapped a towel around Clay’s shoulders as Clay went from gasping for air to sobbing quietly. He’d never seen Clay this emotional. His body was shaking as Trent hurriedly dried himself off. Trent shed his soaked boxers quickly before wrapping the towel around his own waist as he kneeled in front of Clay who was sitting on the covered stool. 

Clay let his upper body fall forward into Trent as Trent reached for him. He pressed Clay’s head to his shoulder and wrapped his other arm around his waist, low enough so he wouldn’t make the gashes hurt more than they already did. 

“It….hurt….I didn’t want to....a guy did it….it hurts…still,” Clay gasped between sobs. The broken sentences started to come together for Trent. 

“They had a man jerk you off til you came?” The thought of his teammate being touched was nauseating.

“The guy….he wanted to…said next time…next time he’d…do more…then you guys…got there…I couldn’t keep from….from coming.” 

Trent closed his eyes trying to rid himself of the image in his head. 

“You couldn’t control it, even if you didn’t want it. It’s natural, most of the people who are raped do come, both men and female. It happens even when it’s being forced.” 

“I wasn’t raped.” Clay said forcefully, his head still against Trent’s chest. 

“Yeah, buddy.....yes you were raped. Sexual things were done to you that you didn’t want.” Trent’s usually calm and steady voice cracked as he continued. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to you sooner.” 

It was Trent’s turn to release the tears that had been welling up in his own eyes. The two clung to each other as they both tried to get their emotions under control before getting dressed. There was a knock at the bathroom door just as Trent tried to finish drying Clay off through blurry eyes. 

“It’s Jason, you okay? I can hear….uh hear…… crying.” 

Jason was taken aback when he heard Trent say, “That’s me you’re hearing.” 

As his concern ratcheted up, Jason opened the door to check on his two teammates. Jason didn’t know what to say or do so he just closed the door behind him and helped Trent dress Clay. Clay was wrung out from both the shower and his emotions, almost limp. Jason looked away once he saw where Clay had been violated. His anger reached new heights. Jason wanted to blow the entire village away the hostiles had taken over until every single one of them was dead. 

No words were said as Trent took Clay on one side with Jason on the other. It was a slow walk back to bed making Trent wonder if Clay was even ready to make the trip home yet. Did he push him too fast? Physically his wounds were manageable. None were life threatening despite hurting like hell he imagined. It was the emotional wounds Trent, and now Jason, were far more worried about. Keeping this part of the trauma out of the reports meant it never happened. He wouldn’t be able to seek out help without it being documented, but Trent knew that Clay’s desire was to keep anyone else from knowing even if he had to struggle through it. 

Jason ran his hands over his face before interlocking his fingers behind his head as he leaned back. He let out a deep sigh as he watched his youngest team member fall back asleep. Every time Jason had seen Clay in a hospital bed, he always thought he looked like he was younger than he really was. This time was no different. Jason was thankful Clay was resting, giving his mind a break from what all happened to him. When Jason looked over to Trent whose knuckles were turning white from gripping the bed rails, he felt the sting of tears in his own eyes. He looked up to try to keep the dam from breaking, but a stray tear raced down his cheek. He didn’t even wipe it away. Trent had tear stains down his face too. He knew the rest of the team had shed their own tears and there would be more once they saw just how hard this has been on Clay. He had no doubt Sonny would be a basket case of emotions. When the Texan allowed himself to feel, he felt deeply. It was already killing him and he didn’t even know Clay had been frightened by the nurse and even Trent himself. He didn't know who Clay could turn to as they all have never experienced what he had.


	4. Can't Push Through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay tries to push past the rape, and thinks he is doing a good job at it, until a mission tests his minds ability to compartmentalize. Lyla re enters his life as she tries to help him sort out his thoughts and feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> addresses sexual assault after the fact

Chapter 4: Can’t Push Through

The flight home was uneventful, so were the first few weeks once Clay was cleared to operate again. Lyla had messaged him a few times, but his only response was ‘I’m good.” He hadn’t been too happy when Sonny said he talked to her. He couldn’t shake feeling bad about blowing her off, but it’s not like they were close. The missions were so routine that Sonny called them boring as none of them had fired their weapon since Clay was taken. That all changed when they were sent on a unknown rescue or recovery mission. 

A Ranger had been separated from his team and the last anyone knew, he was holed up on the side of a mountain. Nothing had been transmitted over comms for hours. It would take 8 hours to get the team on the ground but the Ranger mission had been a Black Op so the Army needed the best of the best to swoop in, grab their man and leave no trace they were even there to begin with. There was no indication that the militants knew the Ranger was still in country, but ISR showed the combatants scouring the area. At this point, it was unknown whether it was a rescue or recovery.

When Bravo found the Ranger, he had already bled out from injuries sustained in the firefight. Jason took out the tarp he had brought along.

“Damnit. How long Trent?”

Trent was bent over the body removing the Rangers helmet.

“Not long, few hours at the most,” Trent answered.

Sonny kneeled next to Trent and helped Jason with the tarp. His eyes grew misty as he said, “Sorry we couldn’t get here sooner.” 

Clay had been standing back as the others tended to the man. Since the beginning of the mission, he had been somewhat off. The team had noticed it, but figured it was personal so they didn’t push. There was no denying it now though. Cerb was the first one to put it together, as usual. He stayed at Clay’s side while the team picked up the Rangers body. Cerb nuzzled Clay’s hand but not to be petted. He wanted to comfort his human teammate. When Clay ignored Cerb, Brock called the hair missile back to him and looked at Jason with concern in his eyes. His concern was reflected back in not only Jason’s eyes, but the rest of the team. 

“Six, lead us to the LZ,” Jason commanded. “We’ve got him.”

Clay jammed his hands into his pockets looking for his compass and the map he had used to get them to the body. He huffed in frustration, kicking at the loose rocks by his feet muttering, “Why the hell weren’t closer forces sent in? He should still be alive!” The team let the comments go but they knew they had a problem on their hands.

“Why us? Why wait this long? He shouldn’t…..he shouldn’t have….died. We failed him,” the anger was rising in Clay’s voice. Sonny switched places with Brock so he could take Clay aside before they trekked back to the helo’s waiting to take them home.

Sonny calmly and slowly took the map from Clay’s hands as Clay stared off into the distance, not even acknowledging him. 

“I will lead us out,” Sonny softly told Clay. “You got us here, take a break.”

Just one klick from the LZ, Blackburns voice over comms alerted them of two technicals speeding their way. It was unknown at the time if the technicals knew Bravo was there, but the question was quickly answered as the men took heavy fire. All of them, except Clay, hit the ground covering their heads as an RPG exploded near them. Sonny looked up in disbelief as he saw Clay still standing, frozen in what seemed to be fear. Sonny scrambled to his feet and tackled Clay just as Jason yelled out “Push left! Get QRF!”

Sonny grabbed Clay’s strap and pulled him behind a rock outcrop for better cover. Clay met Sonny’s eyes and he kept repeating, “We shouldn’t be here. This shouldn’t be happening. He should be alive.” Sonny could barely hear him over the sound of gunfire from the auspray as it easily took out the two vehicles. The men dropped their mags and put full ones in their guns as they headed to the helo’s at double time. Sonny had to pull Clay along with him which didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. 

“What if they found him….before we did? What if he was still alive then?” Clay angrily shouted at Jason once they were secure in the aircraft which would take them back to base so they could fly home. 

Ray tried to calm Clay down but Clay pulled his arm away from Ray’s touch as he took several deep breaths. Ray tried again, as did Trent from the other side. Again, Clay pulled away from Ray which moved him closer to Trent. Clay’s eyes snapped up to see their medic next to him also reaching out for him. Clay tried to bolt from his spot but there wasn’t anywhere to go as the team was stuffed into the helo like sardines. Trent and Ray each grabbed Clay underneath his arms and pinned him against the back of the pilots seats. He struggled, but when Jason yelled, “Six, stand down. Stop fighting,” above the sound of the rotors, Clay settled down. Trent and Ray didn’t let go though, not until the helo had landed. Clay pulled himself from their grips and darted for the first place he could find where he could be alone. He slid down against the side of the restroom stall just inside the infirmary. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. He rocked forward and back as he fought the terror in his mind. 

It had all started when he heard the Ranger had been on his own, separated from his team. It got worse when they found him dead. After Trent told Jason the Ranger had survived for the majority of the time he was unaccounted for, the emotions grew in Clay. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about what could have happened to the Ranger had the enemy found him alive. 

Images of Clay’s own capture flickered through his mind. First he was thrown into a dirt floor room knocking the wind out of him as two men held him down, just like Ray and Trent had done in the helo. He hadn’t told anyone how he got the gash along his abdomen. It was from when the men cut his shirt off. He couldn’t get enough air to yell even though he knew his teammates weren’t close enough to hear him. After three hits to the face, he was knocked unconscious because the next thing he knew, there was another man in the room with him, sitting in the corner on a stool just watching him. Clay tried to get up off the floor but his arms and legs were pinned down by the men who had beat him. 

He was now undressed trying desperately to get to his safe place in his mind as he knew what was about to happen. SERE had never trained him for this. He had heard stories of other service men going through this, but he had never known one personally. He had always thought there was no way in hell he’d ever allow anyone to get this close to him. He thought he was strong enough and smart enough to get away, but he quickly realized it didn’t matter. He wasn’t getting away and as far as he knew, Bravo had yet to locate him because if they had, he wouldn’t still be laying naked on the floor in the dirt held down while a man watched him struggle while fondly smiling at him with a glint in his eye. 

“Enough,” said the man on the stool. “He knows what we are capable of now.” The English was broken with a heavy accent, but Clay could still understand him. The three men left the room locking the door behind them as Clay scrambled to the corner of the room desperately searching with his eyes for a way out despite the fading ray of light through the cracks in the roof.

It wasn’t long by Clay’s estimation before the men returned, resuming their positions. The two men struggled to get Clay back on the ground, but they succeeded. Clay had nothing to defend himself with while the man in charge smiled at him deviously waiting for his lackeys to pin the SEAL on the ground. Clay could feel everything that was done to him as he tried to focus on his safe place, which was in the cages back in VA surrounded by his teammates. He knew he was always safe in there with the team and their weapons. The atmosphere was usually jovial, cracking jokes and teasing one or the other as they prepped their equipment for whatever mission or training exercise they were heading to. 

He didn’t scramble away when they released him like he had the first time. He didn’t know what to do as the man with the stool told him “That is just the start,” as the three left the room. By the time the remaining light through the roof had vanished, he heard muffled gunfire followed by return fire. It wasn’t long before he was being covered up by his teammates after they had blown the door exposing the room to the outside. That’s when his memories become a blur until he’s in the base hospital.

Clay’s intrusive thoughts were interrupted by Sonny knocking on the stall door, softly asking Clay if he could come in. Clay had chosen the last stall, the biggest one, to find solitude in. He’s not sure he would have fit in the others with most of his gear still on. 

“It’s not locked,” Sonny heard Clay mumble. 

As he slowly pushed open the door, Clay was on his knees with his head in the toilet emptying his stomach of anything left in it from the last day. Sonny dropped to his knees and put one hand on Clay’s shoulder. Clay tried to pull away but he couldn’t leave the toilet yet as his heaving continued. Sonny didn’t pull back his hand though. 

He kept it firmly on Clay’s shoulder all the while repeating, “It’s just me, Sonny….your best friend….I ain’t gonna hurt you.” 

Sonny’s voice cracked with emotion. He couldn’t believe he had thought Clay was okay after being captured. The team shouldn’t have trusted Clay telling them he was good. They all should have known this wasn’t something Clay could just push away as hard as he tried. Sonny let out a weary sigh as he stood, pulling Clay to his feet under his arms. What were they going to do? There was no record of what happened to Clay. He was just thankful they were off call for two weeks once they got back to the states. The team brainstormed ideas as Clay rested in his hammock, but it was Clay himself, who knew what he needed to do. He needed to make a phone call as soon as they landed state side.

“Hey, uh, this is Clay, Petty Officer Spenser, I was part of the team that uh, that…that got you out of Dubai a few months ago.” 

There was a slight pause before he heard the response. 

“Of course I remember, you stayed with me for a few nights, What can I do for you?” she asked, wondering why he was calling. When he didn’t get back to her except a quick ‘I’m good’ after Sonny had called her, she gave up figuring that he had just done what he felt was right and now that she was safe, he was out of her life.

She had hoped he’d stay in contact but at the time, she wasn’t anywhere near ready to pursue any type of relationship with anyone. Even now, she wasn’t so sure, but a smile lit up her face when she heard his voice.

“I’d rather talk in person if we could. Have some questions about how things have been going for you, what you did after…after, you know….like if you talked to someone.”

“Did you rescue someone else? Does she want to talk? No one should go this road alone.” 

Clay hesitated. How much should he say over the phone? Should he have even called her? Should he have dredged up her memories not knowing if she could even help him?

“We didn’t have another rescue mission, well sorta I guess. I mean, I was the one rescued, back when Sonny had talked to you.” 

He could hear her gasp. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly. 

“Not really. I mean physically I’m healing, we’ve been on missions the past 6 weeks but this last mission….well, I had some trouble…emotionally. ” 

He felt a pit in his stomach as he continued on, once again questioning himself for making this call. “I need to talk to someone about that. Thought I could talk to you.” 

Lyla could hear the desperation in his voice. She knew he wasn’t the type to ask for help unless it was absolutely needed. Despite knowing no details, she could tell he was struggling.

“Would an hour from now work? I could meet you at my book store. We can use my office.” 

Clay exhaled deeply as he hung up the phone after confirming the address of the store, feeling relieved but also a bit of dread. Asking for help made it real.

After meeting Lyla, Clay explained in vague detail of how he was taken and how he reacted in the last mission as he couldn’t reveal any mission specifics. He looked down at the floor which indicated to Lyla there was more to his story but she waited on him. 

He startled when he felt her hand on his thigh as she was trying to comfort him. It immediately clicked in her head that something else had happened to him besides his capture. She could see the signs because she herself had exhibited the same. Looking down, flinching at any touch, changing pace of conversation, void of emotions and the list went on. He felt like the words were stuck in his throat as he tried to swallow the lump forming. 

“Were you touched?” she asked simply. It sounded more like a statement, like a fact, than a question. He nodded his head as he kept his eyes down. 

“Can you look at me?” she asked. Clay turned his head towards her and she slowly reached for his chin then titled his face up but he still avoided her eyes. He knew he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions if he looked at her. 

“You have to know this wasn’t your fault, you didn’t ask for what happened.” Clay thought in his head those were lines he had probably told her. The words had more meaning now as he was on the other side. She shifted so she was in his line of sight. 

“The two guys held me down while one man…jerked me off…..they didn’t have me…have me do anything. He just used his….hands though.” Clay bravely told her. He also felt shame that here he was upset with what happened to him while she had had it far worse.

“It’s not “just” anything. Whether it is hands, or someone’s mouth or intercourse, it’s still rape, it’s still wrong.” 

There’s that word again. Rape.

His phone beeped, wondering why he was getting paged in when he wasn’t on call. “I’m sorry, I need to go.”

“Call me when you can next. Let’s keep talking, it will help.” 

Clay nodded, not sure what he wanted to do, as he left her office. He looked back over his shoulder as he walked out of the store and saw her wiping the tears from her own eyes as she seemed to steady herself, bracing against the wall. He felt terrible in that moment making her relive what happened to her.

Two days later, he silenced his phone as he and they guys were at the bar. He had been called in to do some interpretive work over comms while he had been with Lyla. He phone beeped again and he saw he had a text.

He opened it up. “Not sure if you are in VA or not, just checking to see how you are doing.” 

He sent a quick text “I am in VA, out with the guys, will call in morning.” 

“Okay.” 

“Thanks for checking on me.” 

When he looked up from his phone, he had 5 sets of eyes staring at him. The guys were worried anytime he got quiet. Actually they were worried when he even seemed like himself as it seemed forced. Heck, they were worried 24/7 and hated when one of them couldn’t be with him since his break down after the last mission. He knew they were worried but appreciative they didn’t bring up the topic. They treated him with kid gloves but this time, he didn’t mind. He didn’t have anyone else who cared for him since his mom was gone, his dad was an ass and his grandparents had passed several years ago. The team was all he had. The team also only had one week to get him mission ready or Jason would have to get creative to stand Clay down if needed.

“Got a hot date?” Sonny asked, breaking the awkward silence. 

“No, nothin’ like that,” he mumbled in reply yet his cheeks flushed. 

Normally Sonny would keep pestering him til he spilled but since they got back with him after his ordeal, Sonny was much less like himself and more like Ray, quiet and reflective. 

“I think I’m going to head out, kinda tired,” Clay told them as he got up from the table. He paid for the single beer he had nursed for over an hour and still wasn’t empty. Jason got up with him to walk outside. 

When they reached Clay’s car, he heard Jason say, “I’m going to put my hand on your shoulder unless you don’t want me to.” 

He didn’t reach out until Clay nodded signaling it was fine for him to do it. When Clay looked up into Jason’s eyes, he saw tears pooling in his team leaders eyes, something he had rarely ever seen other than at Alana’s funeral. Jason reached his hand around the back of Clay’s neck then pulled him close, his other arm around his back mindful of his healing injuries. Clay let out a small sob before pulling away not wanting to fall apart in the bar parking lot in front of his team leader.

“You okay tonight?” Jason asked concerned. 

“Yeah, I uh, I have someone to talk to, about it all.” Clay tried to reassure Jason. He continued when he saw the confusion in his Boss’s eyes.

“Not through the Navy, well sorta but nothing official, not even anyone employed by the Navy, there won’t be a record, nothing official, not even a therapist.” Clay rambled, not sure if he’s trying to convince himself or Jason he’s fine. 

“Okay, but you call me. Let me know when you get home and then when you wake in the morning, I will take you to your physical.” 

Clay didn’t argue even though he was capable of taking himself. The entire team had physicals after they come of rotation and then again when they go back on. Clay wasn’t the only one.

When Jason went back inside, Clay pulled his phone out and dialed a number. 

“Hey, um, are you busy, now?” 

“No I’m not, just heading home.” 

“Can you come over, or me come to you, or I don’t know…maybe….I shouldn’t have called this late.” 

“Whoa, hold on Clay. I can meet you tonight, I told you anytime you needed me I would be there. I have tomorrow off so we can stay up late if needed,” Mel reassured him. 

When they decided Clay’s place was the closest to each of them, he headed to his apartment. As Mel leaned over to set her purse down, Clay noticed a handgun tucked in the top of her pants when her shirt pulled up. 

“You carry now?” 

“Yeah, I also am learning 2 types of self defense.”

“Good for you.” 

“Do you have a safe? I can store my gun if it’s making you nervous. I feel safe here.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” but Mel could see the nervousness in his eyes.

Mel answered for him. “You disarm anyone you come across, regardless.” 

She slowly pulled the gun from her back and asked for the safe. She knew he’d have one. He led her to a cupboard below the sink in his kitchen. He pulled a gun from his side and stored it as well.

“What happened? Why did you call me?” Clay appreciated her bluntness, wanting to get down to the reason why she met him. 

“Every time someone gets near me, I still jump.” Clay admitted. 

“It will be that way for a while, I’m sorry to say. Just ask those around you to try not to startle you, ask them to tell you if they need to touch you.” She saw him look down. “I can talk to them. I know it will be difficult for you to open up to them. I may have only been with you and your team for a couple weeks but I picked up on how you all operate.” 

“They are already doing that, it’s the looks anytime I say or don’t say something, the awkwardness, Sonny isn’t even acting like himself.” 

She took a deep breath before she responded.   
“That may last for a while, and you may still get the looks whenever the topic of sexual assault comes up even if you aren’t involved. Look at it this way. If a team member was bitten by a dog, anytime you came across a dog you’d be more worried for that team member. They don’t mean to have that response to it.” He again was thankful for her blunt honesty. “Just let it out, you will feel better, I guarantee it,” she said to him. 

She slowly reached her arm out asking him if she could put her hand on his shoulder to which he nodded. She lightly squeezed his shoulder getting in his line of sight as he avoided her eyes like the first time they talked. 

“I don’t want to do this, I just want it to be over with,” Clay gasped. 

His body started to shake as his eyes grew damp. She slowly reached her other arm up making sure he could clearly see her movements. She pulled him close to her, a hand on the back of his head. She pressed his head to her chest. Her heart tore knowing what he was going through. She let her own tears fall as she held the normally stoic SEAL in her arms. She was trying to do all the things he had done for her that had helped.

Mel heard Clay’s phone ring, but he was in no shape to answer it so she silenced it for him. 

“Who was it?” He asked as he fought to control his emotions. 

“It said Jason.” 

“Shit, I didn’t call him.” As he dialed his team leaders number, he wiped the remaining tears from his face. 

“Hey, sorry Jason, I should have called you before this.” 

“Just wanted to make sure you got home. I will be there at 0800.” Lyla could hear the conversation and she went to gather her things as it was getting late.

“Hey, uh, can you stay for a while? I mean, I uh, need to relax some before I try to sleep, doubt I will sleep anyway…” he trailed off. 

“The nightmares get less, I promise.” She reassured him. 

She settled back down on the couch as he turned the tv on finding a movie neither of them had seen. A few hours later, Clay had fallen asleep so Mel draped a blanket across him before she picked up her things and set his phone alarm for 0600 since she knew he had to go for his evaluation at 0800. She left a note to call her when he got up. She didn’t know his safe combo but she didn’t want to wake him. Mel knew staying there was a risk to both of them. If he awoke and didn’t realize he was home and safe, he could lash out at her, something he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for even if it’s not his fault. Even though she knew self defense, he knew far more than she did and could over power her easily. 

He heard his phone alarm and reached for it. He couldn’t believe he had slept through the night. He stretched his arms above his head, feeling his neck was stiff from the couch all night. He saw her note next to him but didn’t have a chance to call her because Jason showed up an hour early, just as he was finished getting cleaned up. 

“Well Petty Officer Spenser, as far as we are concerned, you are cleared to operate along with your team,” the base doctor told him. When he and Jason reached the cages, they guys were anxiously waiting to find out if he passed his eval or not as he was the last in the group to see the doctor. 

“Good to go,” was all Clay said before his teammates all exhaled their collective breaths, smiles on their faces. They weren’t naïve enough to think he’d “solved” his issues from when he was captured but Jason knew he was talking to someone and it seemed to be helping. The next mission may be the test of that.

“Hey Lyla, I’ve been cleared and we’ve already been spun up. Will call when we get back to town.” Clay texted as the plane sat on the tarmac.


	5. Who to Call?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team debates who they should call when an attack at their hotel in India leaves Clay wounded and being sent back stateside alone. Only Jason knows that Clay has been talking to someone, but didn't know who. Will Lyla be there for him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 4 and chapter 5 were both released back to back, so if you don't know if you've read 4, you can go back and check.

Chapter 5: Who to Call?

“Who do we call? I’m on his CACO form and even though his dad is next of kin, there’s no way we can call him. Clay wouldn’t forgive us,” Sonny brought up as the team stood outside the hospital trying to wrap their heads around what had just happened. 

All 6 of them had been out in the main gazebo area of the hotel with many other guests watching the sun dip down behind the mountains. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets any of the team members had ever seen, and they had seen a lot. The team was in a hotel since there wasn’t a base to work out of for this mission. As the men were about to return to their rooms, they all heard several clinking sounds and then a cell phone ring. All 6 men got flat as a pipe bomb went off closest to Clay, critically injuring him and wounding the others. The grenades were further from the team, but injured many hotel guests. The guys knew Clay would be flown home on a medical plane and they wouldn’t be able to be there for him when he arrived. Their flight wouldn’t get them back til the next evening. 

“Has he mentioned anyone back home? Even Stella? I know they broke up, but…” Jason asked the group. 

“He’s been texting someone, been secretive about it, haven’t pressed him,” Trent mentioned. “We could check his phone.

“I will do it, he can be mad at me then and not you all,” Jason stated as he took Clay’s phone and started scrolling through it. Other than calls between the base and the guys, only one other name came up. 

“Lyla? Has he mentioned a girl he’s been seeing?” Jason asked. “I don’t want to read the messages unless I have to.”

“Only Lyla I know is the gal we rescued in Dubai when we got sent in for a CIA operative,” Brock stated. 

It hit Jason all of a sudden that the person he’s been talking to has been Lyla, as she had a similar experience. The guys didn’t know he had been talking to someone about what happened to him and Jason didn’t want to have to reveal that but he had to so the guys would know that if Mel was called then Clay would have someone there for him stateside until they got back. Jason explained what he knew and the guys all remained silent, hating their rookie had to reach out to deal with his trauma because they didn’t know just how bad it had gotten. Also, because here he was again, hurt and they couldn’t do anything for him. Jason walked outside to call Lyla from Clay’s phone. 

“Hey Clay! You back already?” She asked, excited he had called. 

“Lyla, this isn’t Clay, it’s Jason, his team leader.” 

There was a slight pause before she responded. “I remember you. What happened to Clay, is he…is he alive?” 

She asked cautiously knowing that Jason wouldn’t have called her unless something was wrong. 

“He was hurt tonight, pretty bad. He’s being flown stateside but we won’t get there til 24 hours after him. Can you be with him?” 

There was no hesitation this time. 

“Of course I will be.” Jason gave her the details she needed then returned to the guys.

When the medical team brought Clay to his room after multiple surgeries to extract the metal pieces from the bomb out of his left leg and left arm and stitch him back up, he was sedated. They were keeping him sedated for the next 12 hours minimum as the flight home had been rough on him. There was no fear of being too close since he wouldn’t be waking up until the team got here so Lyla sat next to clay’s bed holding one of his hands in both of hers. She took in the numerous abrasions on his face and chest, mostly on his left side. A sheet covered him just below his hips but his upper body was exposed. There was a line of stitches she couldn’t see at the base of his neck. She had been told his back was deeply bruised from falling debris that crashed down on him. He had swelling around his spinal cord but he did respond to pain stimuli so they were confident he hadn’t suffered permanent paralysis. He may need some PT as he will most likely be a bit unsteady on his feet once he’s able to come off sedation until the swelling goes down.

There was a knock at his door and a brunette stood with her hand to her mouth as she took in the sight of Clay. 

“Ash didn’t tell me he was this bad,” she exclaimed to the woman sitting next to Clay. 

“Are you a friend?” Lyla asked, confused since Jason would have called a known friend before searching Clay’s phone. 

When there was no answer, Lyla asked another question. 

“Who is Ash?”   
The woman looked at Lyla as she responded. “Yeah, uh, we dated and then split up a few months ago, but I realized breaking up with him was a mistake but couldn’t reach him. I know he will take me back, he didn’t want to break up. Then I got a call from Ash. Ash is Clay’s father. They aren’t close but he thought we were still together so he called me. Someone contacted him about Clay. He is on the first flight here but it will be a couple hours. He asked me to sit with him. Who are you?” Stella asked after answering Lyla’s questions.

“I’m a friend, met about a few months ago.” 

Now it was Stella’s turn to be confused. She had been with Clay when Clay and Lyla would have met. Lyla could see the confusion in her eyes so she explained. 

“We met through his job. Just got back in touch a few weeks ago.” 

“Are you two together?” Stella asked hesitantly, afraid she waited too long.

“No, we aren’t.” Stella breathed a sigh of relief, but Lyla was getting more unsettled by this women as they talked. As far as she had been told, no one should be in Clay’s life other than those who had been with him when the attack occurred and now her. Lyla excused herself as Stella took the vacant chair. Tears slipped down her face as she reached for Clay’s hand.

Lyla called the SAT phone number Jason had given her for emergencies. When it rang, the whole team held their breaths. 

“Jason? I’m not sure what’s going on but there’s a woman named Stella here that said Clay’s dad called her. Wanted her to sit with Clay til he got there in a few hours.   
“What the hell?” Jason exploded in anger. “I will take care of this all. You just stay with Clay.” The last thing he needed was for Ash and Stella to be in his room if he woke up before the team got there. He’d think he had died and gone to hell given how he felt about those two now.

“What do you mean it was an accident? Was I not clear that NO ONE should be contacted?” Jason fumed as he stalked over to where the support team was sitting. 

“Ash is his next of kin,” the support man tried to explain. 

‘And we don’t contact next of kin unless they die or their CO orders it, right?” 

The man cowered behind his computer screen not knowing what else to say. He had wanted to join Bravo support but now that he’s on Jason’s bad side he can see that dream slipping away fast. 

“Did Commander Blackburn order you to call the next of kin?”

“I’m sorry, won’t happen again.”

“You bet your ass it won’t happen again, I will deal with you later.”

“Someone, get me the nursing supervisor for 6’s floor,” Jason bellowed as he turned to see Lisa on the phone. She already had the number and was dialing, knowing what Jason wanted before he even said it. 

When the supervisor answered, Lisa told her someone needed to talk with her urgently. Despite being busy, she gave her time to the call. 

“This is Master Chief Jason Hayes with DEVGRU team Bravo. No one is allowed to visit Petty Officer Clay Spenser except for a woman named Lyla Griffen. Not even his father, Ash Spenser, who is PNG and shouldn’t even be allowed on base. I have this authority as Master Chief. I’ve been informed another woman named Stella Baxter is in his room. She also cannot visit my guy.” The supervisor ended up being glad she did took the call. She knew she had contain what would most likely be a volatile situation if these two were in the hospital when Bravo arrived. She had heard rumors about this DEVGRU team, especially Master Chief Hayes, so she knew she had to take his word and do as he asked. She now knew the stories of his tight protective bond with his men were true. 

Lyla went back into Clay’s room not knowing what Jason would do on his end, but she knew he’d do something. Stella scoffed at her, not moving from the chair Lyla had been sitting in.

“Did you go tell on me to Jason?” Stella asked snidely.

Lyla was highly uncomfortable in this situation but her main concern was being by Clay. She decided not to answer the question posed. Just a few moments later, the nursing supervisor walked into the hospital room telling Stella she needed to leave.

“What? Why do I have to leave? I can’t visit him? Why, because Master Chief Hayes forbids it? Come on!” Stella angrily spat at the nurse. 

“I’m sorry but you must remember this is a NAVY hospital and we follow different rules. Master Chief Hayes has the authority. His father will not be allowed to visit either, despite being Next of Kin as the call to him was made in error.” 

When Stella didn’t show any signs of getting up to leave, the nurse continued.

“I need you to leave now or you will be escorted off the property by security.” Stella wanted to see if she was bluffing, but instead turned to Lyla sitting across Clay’s bed from her. 

“That means you have to go too if Jason doesn’t want anyone here.”

“No, it doesn’t. Jason asked me to stay with him.”

Stella turned back to the nurse. “She gets to stay? Why does she get to stay? She barely knows him. Even his dad can’t see him! I was with him for a year. A year! I know him better than her.” Stella argued, incredulous that Lyla was able to stay. 

“Yes, Lyla gets to stay. You need to leave. This is the last time I will ask you. The next time it will be security taking you out of here.”

Stella knew she shouldn’t push anymore. This nurse wasn’t going to back down. As Stella stood, she looked at Lyla who was holding Clay’s hand again and raking her other hand through his blonde tufts as she watched his sleep peacefully.

“You liar, you said you two weren’t together. When I let him know what stunt was pulled and that I want him back, he will leave you.” 

Lyla didn’t respond as there was no point. Stella wasn’t going to listen to her and arguing with her would just delay her leaving. She gently lifted his arm to her so she could kiss the back of his hand. She held it there as she said a prayer to whomever may be up there. His hands were worn, calloused and dry from the conditions he works in. A few small cuts and scrapes littered his hand, but none needed any more attention after they were cleaned up.

The doctor who entered the room interrupted her thoughts to tell her that they would be extending his sedation for a few more hours.

“His body went through more stress than we imagined it would on the flight home. We don’t want to push him too soon.” 

As soon as the doctor left, she called Jason but she called the SAT phone. She was surprised when it wasn’t Json’s voice she heard.

“Commander Blackburn, this is Lyla, I’m here with Clay.” Before she relayed the info, the CO told her to call him Eric. Before he hung up, Sonny got on the phone. “You tell him we are coming as fast as we can.” There was desperation in Sonny’s voice which was normally even and steady. This must have really shaken him up.


	6. Winchester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets to see Clay after his injury, he heads home and the team spins up, clay and Lyla make some changes, two new additions to Clays apartment are helping him get on his way back to operational status hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> several events in this chapter to set up for the next, didn't want to stretch it out any further getting to the main reason for writing this story

Chapter 6: Winchester

Bravo 1 with 2,3,4 and 5 in tow made their way immediately to the hospital from the tarmac, still in gear. Due to the attack the night before, the group had been sent out to rescue Americans at the embassy before their flight home. As they walked through the cages, the men just dropped their bags and vests, not even stopping. They knew support would put things away. All of the men were hungry, dirty and tired but that didn’t matter to them. Lyla had left a message that they lifted sedation an hour ago so it’s sit and wait, but they don’t want to miss him waking up for the first time, especially because he is likely to be confused. They had already told her to not sit within arms reach of him after they lifted sedation just in case. She had moved back 3 arm lengths just in case.

The men knew he’d look rough but hadn’t expected him to be this bad off. Clay had bruising with cuts and scrapes on his face. His left forearm was bandaged, burns underneath. Even though the bed sheet was pulled to his hips, they knew what damage lies under there. His left leg had been sliced open from frag, long stretches of stitches littering his calf and thigh.  
Jason was the first to reach Clay’s door. He slowed his steps causing those behind him to stop. It took a moment for Jason to take in the sight he was seeing. Clays bruises weren’t evident the last time they saw him as they loaded him into the ambulance. As soon as they took him in for surgery, he had to sit and wait with the others. Then Clay was gone before they could see him again. Jason’s last image was the look of fear in his Rookies eyes while he tried to slow the bleeding, pressing gauze pads down where Trent told him too. As soon as he was lifted off the ground, his closed and he was out.

Once the rest of Bravo saw what Jason was seeing, they all realized why he had slowed. Sonny cursed, Ray prayed, Cerb jumped to the foot of the bed, Brock petted Cerb and Trent flipped through the medical file. Eric wasn’t too far behind them. 

“Gentlemen, I know you want to be here but we must complete the AAR. The sooner we do, the sooner we can get back in here.” Before Jason could argue, Eric put his hand up to stop him. “He is more likely to wake up later than he is right now. I promise you I will speed it along.” 

Sonny put his hand on Clay’s shoulder. “Hang in there Goldilocks.”

Brock reluctantly called Cerb off the bed, knowing Cerb would calm Clay when he wakes up but he can’t leave the dog with anyone but Bravo. Trent sighed and closed the chart. 

Ray patted Clay on the arm. “Praying for you Brother.” Jason was the last to leave. He didn’t think Lyla could hear him bust she did. “We can’t be Bravo without our 6.” Jason smoothed the hair on his head and leaned over. He pressed his forehead to Clay’s and shut his eyes briefly before following the rest of his team out. 

Lyla couldn’t help but think how rough and tumble these guys appear to be but are closer to each other than most real families. She has no doubt they hold the hand of an injured man, hug the man who is going through a loss, squeeze the shoulder of a man who has a nightmare. She had been able to watch them interact when they rescued her. They were gentle, caring and compassionate. She hadn’t expected that. They were also fierce, not backing down to anyone. To most, they appear as if they want their ego stroked but they are just confident when they know they can accomplish something. They are loyal to a fault. Bravo 2-6 look to Bravo 1, Bravo 1 looks to Commander Blackburn. From the bit she heard while on the C 17 with them, she knew that other groups don’t function like this team. She heard that from at least two Officers who criticized the team despite being successful in their rescue mission. When Eric got heated, something he rarely does, he knew Jason would have his back, just like Jason knew his men would have his back. The brotherhood sticks together. The saying wasn’t true—You can’t pick your family but yes you can. Every teammate is chosen by the team leader to be their brother, to work as a team.

Lyla lightly squeezed Clays hand before resuming her position in the chair several steps back. She couldn’t help but to think how unfair this all was. Clay takes down bad guys and helps the innocent and here he lay in a hospital bed.

A few hours later during shift change, the new nurse came in to change an IV bag. She was graying but still had a pep in her step.

“Don’t worry sweetheart. He’s a strong man, all SEALs are.” Lyla nodded before saying “The world cannot lose him. I..I cannot…loose him” Her voice was thick with emotion as a tear ran down her face. 

“Sweetheart, is there anything I can do? Anyone I can call?” Lyla shook her head before the nurse walked out almost running into the team as they entered Clay’s room. 

“One of us will stay with him at all times so you can go,” Jason offered. 

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay.” 

“Of course you can stay” Jason responded. It felt awkward to have someone he barely knows sitting with Clay now that the team is here but he did call her and ask her to be here for him. The team was quiet, barely anyone making a sound as they all watched Clay. Cerb was back up on Clays bed and the men were scattered around the room either pacing or sitting on their floor with their backs against the wall, weary from the last few days. Despite a shower and food, the team all looked exhausted.

Trent noticed the slight twitch in Clay’s hand first. “Guys,” was all he needed to say before each man was around the bed, a protective circle around their down man. 

Sonny motioned for Lyla to join them. “It’s okay. We are here.” 

Clay slowly cracked his eyes open as he balled his hands into fists. Sonny, in one fluid motion, had Lyla behind him. He knew what was coming. 

“Hey buddy, it’s us, you are safe, we are here.” 

The men repeated the words as Clay became restless, still not quite awake. He seemed to be fighting consciousness. He started to raise his arms and pull his legs in but pain prevented him from moving more than a few inches. He groaned and shook his head from side to side, as if trying to clear his mind. 

We got you brother,” Ray repeated. 

Clay finally opened his eyes all the way and his body relaxed as he took in his surroundings. He tried to pull the oxygen mask off but Brock prevented him from it. “Let me switch it out,” Trent told Clay as he got the nasal canula that was hung on the oxygen pump. He removed the mask then placed the canula under Clay’s nose. “This will feel better, easier to talk.” 

Clay saw Lyla behind Sonny, his eyes sad. “Did I…?” Clay croaked out, his voice hoarse. 

“No, you didn’t do anything. Just being cautious,” Sonny replied. He felt an instant wave of relief and settled back into the bed. He was back asleep within moments.

Two days later, Clay was released from the hospital. Sonny wanted him at his place of course, but he also wanted Lyla to stay in case they got spun up while Clay was still recuperating. It would have been simpler for Lyla to go to Clay’s, but Sonny wanted eyes on the Kid as much as he could.

Within a couple days, the team got spun up and had to leave their six behind.  
Clay was laying in sonny’s bed thinking over the doctor thinking another week is all he would need. The doctor didn’t know though what was left out of the AAR. While Lyla was an author, she took many classes in psychology, sociology and social work plus was only 3 credits shy of her counseling degree. She couldn’t practice as a therapist, but she had a better understanding of how to help someone than the average person. She knew Clay wouldn’t see a non-Navy psychologist as he didn’t want to run the risk of it getting back to command. Lyla formulated a plan then walked into Sonny’s soon. Clay wasn’t asleep. He was just staring up at the ceiling. When she sat on the bed, he whipped his eyes to her, startled. When he realized who it was, he let go of the tension in his body.

“Hey uh…you know when we talked….on the plan after you all rescued me….we talked some about what I do.”

“Yeah, you are an author. I’ve been reading your work,” Clay stated unsure where this was all going.

“To be an author of the type of books I write, I needed to understand people better, what makes them tick, events that create chaos, intimate relationships that go awry and so on. I took a lot of classes in psych, sociology, social work and counseling.”

“You want me to talk to you like a therapist?” Clay asked when he realized her intention.

“No, no of course not. I’m not a therapist, I’m still 3 credits shy, but I know you won’t see one off base and you can’t see one on base. I did some counseling in college. I understand people better than most. I just want to help you get through this. Think of me like you did when you first contacted me; a friend that went through something similar. It would be no different now.”

“I don’t want to talk, I will be fine when I get cleared, my focus will be 100% my team and not putting them in danger by my actions.” Clay rolled over onto his side, clearly ending the conversation.

Lyla regretted this plan of action now as he would close her out completely. He already wasn’t talking to anyone, but now it’s cemented in his mind. She needed to think of something else, and quick. She had already noticed how forlorn Clay was when the team went without him. It has given him free time with nothing to set his mind on like they do while on a mission.

As Lyla left the room, she called over her shoulder to Clay asking him, “Do you wanna go walk with me?”

Exercise induced endorphins can make a person feel better and more productive in whatever it is they are going through. After Clay groaned but said ‘yes,’ Lyla smiled to herself. She’s sure he would have rather gone for a run so it speaks to the fact that he wanted someone with him more than the type of exercise. Lyla didn’t mind walking at all. She’d never be able to keep up with Clay running anyway,

First half of the walk, the two spoke about trivial things like the weather and any bucket list dreams they had. At the turn around point, Clay apologized for being rude regarding their conversation and that he does really want to talk to her. He thanked her for wanting to help. Before he could say more, a tiny gray kitten scampered across the trail. It was dirty and skinny with no collar. It was obvious it had been on it’s own for a while.

Lyla knelt down and cooed to the kitten who slowly crept towards her. 

“He won’t survive if he stays out here any longer, he can’t defend himself,” Lyla told Clay once she had the kitten in her hands and checked to see if it was a boy or a girl.

“He’d be Winchester if we left him.” When Lyla gave him a confused look, Clay explained. “When we are out of bullets, we say Winchester.”

“That would be a cute name for him. Winchester. I like that. Winnie, Chester, lots of nicknames.”

When Clay reached for the kitten, Lyla was surprised, but she handed the ball of fur to him.

He peered into the hazel colored eyes of the kitten and promised, “I’m not taking you to the pound, I will keep you til I find you a home.” He then pressed the kitten, now named Winchester, to his chest and held him the entire way back to Sonny’s place.

Before the pair walked in the door, Clay had a question he wanted to ask Lyla.

“When I stayed….with you those couple nights after…after you were able to go home….did it help?”

“Yes, absolutely it helped especially since I knew I now had someone who had experienced the rescue that I could talk to. If I’m being honest, I wish you hadn’t been spun up and had been able to stay longer. There were still things I wanted to talk about my experience but didn’t have anyone while your team was operating.”

“Do you think, uh, well maybe….maybe we could help each other? Um, you move into my place since it’s closer to base, it could be for the short term and see how it goes, I could sleep on the couch so you can have the room since I will be gone a lot-“

“Clay, slow done. You have 6 days before you are even evaluated. Let’s focus on those days first. If you still aren’t ready, I heard Jason say you’d be given an additional week if necessary and then be reviewed. At that point you could be considered unfit for duty but that’s two weeks away and you are making progress. Let’s keep it simple for now.”

As the pair with the kitten made it to Sonny’s place, they each grabbed up their things along with Winchester and headed to Clay’s place. They went the long way to grab some things from Lyla’s place so when they actually did get to Clay’s he was pretty worn out. Lyla dropped Clay and the kitten off so she could go to the store for cat supplies. When she got back to Clay’s place, Clay was fast asleep on the couch with Winchester asleep on his chest. She had to snap a picture, it was too adorable.

Lyla let the pair sleep while she made space in Clay’s room for her clothing and toiletries. There was no reason two grown adults can’t sleep in the same bed as friends, Lyla thought to herself as she watched Clay rest on the uncomfortable couch. She gently shook his shoulder then backed away, but she was greeted with a sleepy smile.

“It’s getting late. Let’s get Winchester set up and go to bed ourselves, sound good?”

“Yeah I have a pillow and blanket in hall closet for the couch, that’s what Sonny usually uses.”

“Is there any reason we can’t share this bed as friends?”

Clay didn’t know how to answer that because there was no answer. He had no reasons. Why wouldn’t they?

“Now Clay, I don’t want you to think this is just a sleepover. We need to talk about hard things like you did with me, but we also need to have fun too, normal people stuff. We will do everything together aside from a few things, so you don’t have to worry about separation and can focus on whatever the issue is that gets to you.”

“Yes, Dr Phil,” Clay mocked with a smile. 

“I wonder what the guys will say?” Clay asked.

“You know, if you aren’t sure about this, I can leave.”

“No-no, the kitten. I think they will be glad to have you with me. I actually got cat scratch fever and swore off cats, until now.” Clay said.

Clay had just changed into his boxers and a t shirt for bed and Lyla had on a tank top with pajama pants when the doorbell rang. Clay assumed it was one of, or all of, the guys saying they were back. Instead, it was Stella.

Lyla was in the bathroom when Stella basically barged in and heard her sob story of how Jason wouldn’t let her see him, but some other girl was there. Then she said how wrong she was to have done what she did and she has made changes so they can get back together. Lyla stayed quiet until Stella went to get tissue in the bathroom to wipe the tears on her face from crying and saw Lyla in there. Her eyes turned to rage and she whipped around so fast and yelled at Clay.

“Her? Her? She’s who you want? She’s the one who called Jason which made them make me leave.” Stella turned back to Lyla and said “You said you two weren’t together but here you are together in one apartment with a kitten. Explain that!!” 

Before Clay could answer, Lyla spoke up. “He’s helping me through a terrible time in my life,” which caught Stella off guard. What made Stella turn and walk out though, was Clay pulling Lyla to his side and giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

After the door slammed, Clay began apologizing for her and what she said as well as thanking Lyla for not telling Stella it was actually he who needed the help the most.

The two were just crawling into bed when the apartment door opened and in filed the 5 other men on Bravo. Not sure who was more surprised to see who. While Clay and Lyla tried to tell them their situation while they were still laying in bed since Jason, Trent, Brock and Ray had come in through the door, they all heard, “What the hell is this? Is this damn cat? Are you kidding me? Cat scratch fever ring a bell?” By the time Sonny had the kitten against his chest in the bedroom, everyone could see how soft Sonny got. When he realized everyone was staring at him, he said, “If this were any of you…well….I’d probably be staring too!” Sonny laughed from deep in his belly the only way the Texan knows how.

“Bravo, meet Winchester.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that the cat scratch fever was not part of the tv series, another writer wrote that, I’m looking for who that writer is (I loved the story) to see if I should remove it or if I can give credit to that writer, whatever they want. Please help me out if you know who it is. I find these stories blend into the show so much that it’s hard to remember what actually happened versus what I read!

**Author's Note:**

> No chapter count as the story is still evolving


End file.
